Convertible chair



R. H. GORE' ETAL CONVERTIBLE CHAIR June 11, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 16. 1961 INVENTORS ERT 60m:- Jomv J 542/1545 BY ATT N 5:

.a. ah,

United States Patent 3,093,412 CONVERTELE CHAIR Robert H. Gore, Fort Landerdale, Fla, and John J.

Barabas, New Rochelle, N.Y., assignors to Castro Convertible Corporation, New Hyde Park, N .Y., a corporation of New York Filed Oct. 16, 1961, Ser. No. 145,327 3 Claims. (Cl. 297217) This invention relates to a chair, such as an arm chair and the like, which contains and conceals an ironing board, and iron.

An object of this invention is to provide a combined chair and ironing board assembly which looks like and serves as a comfortable easy chair but which can easily be converted for use as an ironing board.

A further object is to provide such a unit which is simple and convenient to use.

Another object is to provide a unit of this kind which can be made and sold at relatively low cost.

These and other objects will in part be understood from and in part pointed out in the following description.

Travel nowadays is becoming increasingly convenient. At the end of a day a person can check into a motel or hotel and enjoy most of the comforts of home. Moreover, with the development of wash and wear clothing, the

traveler can wash a suit or dress at night and have it ready to wear in the morning for a fresh start. However, even the newest miracle fabrics are not completely wrinkle free, and so after washing or unpacking it is desirable to be able to give them a quick pressing wit-h an iron. Surprisingly, though, almost no hotel or motel provides its guests with the simple equipment for doing this themselves. Of course, valet service is available, but in addition to the cost this service is slow and of variable quality. As a result many people who travel, particularly women, would like to have available in their own hotel room an ironing board and iron.

Undoubtedly among the reasons why hotels have not previously seen fit to furnish their rooms with ironing facilities are lack of space, the lack of a reliable and convenient arrangement, and the cost of installing these facilities. The present invention provides a combined chair and ironing board unit which fits into the decor of almost any room. Because it takes the place of an ordinary easy chair, this unit eliminates the need for separate or additional storage space for the ironing board and iron, and of course it is not necessary to alter a closet or any part of a room to accommodate these facilities.

The ironing boa-rd in this new unit is stored within the back of the chair and the iron beneath the seat thereof, these two being concealed within the chair when not in use. The back of the chair is removably covered with a fabric panel which is easily lifted and folded back to permit access to the ironing board and iron. The board is hinged to the back of the chair so that the board can readily be swung up into ironing position, the chair providing an exceptionally steady support for one end of the board. The other end of the board is held up by a slender but strong leg which unfolds from beneath the board. An electric iron is stored in a drawer-like cornpartment beneath the seat of the chair, this drawer being lined with asbestos so that the iron can be put away immediately after use. For added convenience a hair dryer is provided in an additional compartment alongside the iron drawer in the chair.

Since this new chair-ironing board unit can be mass produced at moderate cost, and since it can be handled as an ordinary piece of furniture, it now becomes feasible to furnish existing hotel rooms and the like with these very desirable additional facilities. A better understanding of the invention together with a fuller appreciation of its many advantages will best be gained from the following description given in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective of a chairaironing board unit embodying features of the invention and showing the unit in normal condition with the ironing board folded within it,

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the rear of the unit showing the ironing board unfolded and showing the compartments for an iron and a hair dryer,

FIGURE 3 is a side view of the unit partly broken away, and

FIGURE 4 is a rear view of the unit, shown in reduced size, with the back cover removed.

The chair unit 10 shown in FIGURE 1 serves as an easy chair with a seat 12 and a back 14. As seen in FIG- URES 2 and 3, the back of the chair is hollow and its rear side is covered by a removable fabric panel 16. This panel can be lifted up and folded over the front of the chair to uncover the ironing facilities enclosed in the back and beneath the seat of the chair. Panel 16 is permanently attached to the top of the chair and is removably fastened along its side edges to the chair by nylon fabric strip fasteners 18 and 19.

Within the hollow space in the chair back is mounted an ironing board 28. The inner end of this board is pivoted beneath the top of the chair to the frame thereof by hinges 22. Fixed on the top of the board near these hinges is a bracket 23 which helps prevent the iron from coming in contact with the chair. When board 20 is unfolded, a leg 24 pivoted near the outer end of the board unfolds, as seen in FIGURE 2, to support it horizontally. Leg 24 is pivoted to the board by a hinge 26 and the leg itself is jointed at a knee 28. The upper end of the leg between points 26 and 28 is formed of two slender, parallel bars 39, which are bridged together by pivot pins at hinge 26 and at joint 28. These bars are also joined by a transverse brace 32, which in addition to holding bars 30 rigid serves, as will appear, to lock the lower end of the leg in a straight line with bars 3% when the leg is unfolded as shown in FIGURE 2.

The lower end of leg 24 comprises a metal tube or shaft 34 which is joined somewhat below its upper end, to bars 30 by the pivot pin at joint 28. At this joint the bars are provided with slots '36. When, as seen in FIGURE 3, the pin at pivot 28 is at the lower end of these slots, the upper end of lower leg shaft 34 can be swung past brace 32. Shaft 34 near its upper end carries a tab 38, which as seen in FIGURE 2, engages the back edges of bars 30 when they and shaft 34 are in a straight line. Then by sliding the pin at joint 28 to the upper ends of slots 36, the upper end of shaft 34 will move beneath transverse brace 32, thereby locking these parts together.

As seen in FIGURE 2, the upper ends of bars 30 carry angle plates 40 which when the leg is unfolded to the dotted line position indicated, engage the under face of ironing board 20' and prevent further outward swinging of leg 24. When the leg is folded beneath the ironing board, as indicated by the solid lines in FIGURE 3, the upper end of leg shaft 34 fits into a spring clip 42 fastened to the board and by means of which the leg is held in place. Then the board can be folded down into the back of the chair as shown in FIGURE 4. To hold the board so folded, its underside, as seen in FIGURE 3, carries "a small magnet 44 which engages a magnetic tab 45 fastened to the back of the chair.

As seen in FIGURE 2, a pair of drawers 46 and 48 are placed beneath chair seat 12. Drawer 46 is adapted to hold a hair drayer 50, and drawer 48, to hold an iron 52. The latter drawer is lined with asbestos so that the iron can be put away hot.

Each of these appliances is connected by its respective electric cord to a tamper-proof switch box 54 which in turn is connected to a coin-operated meter 56. The latter has an electric cord (not shown) which is adapted to be plugged into a standard wall out-let. When a person desires to use either the hair dryer or the iron, she can put a coin of proper denomination into the meter which then turns on the electricity for a measured amount of time, at the end of which the current is automatically turned otf. Thus, this meter provides a safety cutoff for the appliances and also provides a source of revenue.

The above description is given in illustration and not in limitation of the invention. Various changes or modifications in the embodiment described may occur to those skilled in the art and these can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as set forth. The drawings herein were made from an actual unit and show its various parts substantially to scale.

We claim:

1. An improved convertible chair-ironing board unit comprising a chair frame having a seat and a back with a hollow vertical space, a panel of upholstery covering the back of said chair, said panel being permanently attached to said chair along the top of said frame and being removably attached to said frame along the vertical rear sides thereof, fastener means along each vertical rear side to secure the edges of said panel to said chair, an ironing board pivoted along its upper or inner end to said frame closely beneath the top edge thereof, said board having a length substantially less than the height of said chair, said board when folded fitting within said vertical space and being completely concealed by said panel, said board being swingable outward from said frame to a horizontal ironing position, a leg pivoted to the underside of said board near the outer end thereof, said leg having a knee joint near its center, stop means to limit the outward 4 swinging of said leg relative to said board to slightly more than a right angle, means to lock the knee joint of said leg when it is unfolded, the length of said leg being substantially greater than the length of said board, and latch means to hold said board folded within said space and said leg folded against said board.

2. The arrangement in claim 1 wherein said leg includes a short upper portion and a lower portion slidably pivoted to the former, said upper portion having a shoulder behind which the upper end of said lower portion can be slipped and thereby locked in straight line relation with said upper portion.

3. The arrangement in claim 1 wherein a slidable drawer is mounted within said seat and is accessible at the lower end of said vertical space when said board is unfolded, the lower end of said board when folded covering the front of said drawer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 658,842 Harris Oct. 2, 1900 1,250,755 Anderson Dec. 18, 1917 1,325,630 Fair Dec. 23, 1919 1,503,689 Kroschel Aug. 5, 1924 1,515,466 Dore Nov. 11, 1924 1,573,691 Eichberg Feb. 16, 1926 1,590,674 Cummings June 29, 1926 2,227,329 Stone t Dec. 31, 1940 2,294,039 Looney Aug. 25, 1942 2,651,861 Wood Sept. 15, 1953 2,843,436 Franks July 15, 1958 2,994,145 Dall Aug. 1, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 672,185 Great Britain May 14, 1952 

1. AN IMPROVED CONVERTIBLE CHAIR-IRONING BOARD UNIT COMPRISING A CHAIR FRAME HAVING A SEAT AND A BACK WITH A HOLLOW VERTICAL SPACE, A PANEL OF UPHOLSTERY COVERING THE BACK OF SAID CHAIR, SAID PANEL BEING PERMANENTLY ATTACHED TO SAID CHAIR ALONG THE TOP OF SAID FRAME AND BEING REMOVABLY ATTACHED TO SAID FRAME ALONG THE VERTICAL REAR SIDES THEREOF, FASTENER MEANS ALONG EACH VERTICAL REAR SIDE TO SECURE THE EDGES OF SAID PANEL TO SAID CHAIR, AN IRONING BOARD PIVOTED ALONG ITS UPPER OR INNER END TO SAID FRAME CLOSELY BENEATH THE TOP EDGE THEREOF, SAID BOARD HAVING A LENGTH SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN THE HEIGHT OF SAID CHAIR, SAID BOARD WHEN FOLDED FITTING WITHIN SAID VERTICAL 